Tea-Junkie.

I've become a tea-junkie. Can you see the crazed tea-junkie look in my eyes? Or maybe that's the caged-animal look? I'll be perfecting that one once the prelims are over and I'm stuck at home for one whole month before the final exams start! Yuck!

I've been actually secretly wishing that the prelims won't get over because of the long study leave after that. Ah, me and time. Sometimes I actually catch myself thinking things like, "I wish I could go to sleep and wake up in May!" I know. *Gasp* right? Thankfully, God's response to my sometimes ridiculous prayers is simply, "Uh, NO!"

If I have to look at the bright side though, I guess having all this time on my hands can be a good thing? (Besides the studying part, yes, I know :P)

I'm slowly getting back into the groove of reading the newspaper again. Otherwise it used to just go back into the pile - unread, its folds still perfectly intact... It's not that I didn't read due to lack of time; but a general disinterest in world issues that had somehow crept over me. I was just frustrated with what I found in the papers. Millions of ads (which is considerably less now since I switched to Hindustan Times), stories (badly written ones, at that!) about absolute non-issues, the usual political drama that plays out in day-to-day Rajya Sabha or Mantralaya life. What's the point? All it ever led to was pointless canteen discussion with my friends that got louder and louder as went round and round in circles. But I hate being a cynic. And ignorance may be bliss, but it's also dumb sometimes. So I'm reading the papers again, a little. Not sure what the next step is though?

After I posted the tiger post on my blog a few days ago and re-posted a short video clip on the same on Facebook, a guy asked me if I thought these awareness videos actually make a difference. I said, "I think so. At least we're more aware, right?" And then I think I may have proceeded to cover up my lame answer with a :) Because, really, I'm not entirely sure if it does make a difference.

As a Sociology student, last year in our media paper we did various theories of Mass Media. And one of them, I can't remember which, might have been Frankfurt School or Marxist Perspective?? It's killing me that I can't remember this. See, exams are pointless. If we had a big heated discussion or a debate on this, I'm sure I would still remember it!! But I digress.

So anyway... one of these theories talked about how the Mass Media can actually have a desensitizing or a numbing effect on us. We're bombarded with all this information from all sides and over and over again that we go into a sort of fake comfort. Now that we know everything, we've done something. We're fooled into thinking that knowing is enough and we don't end up actually doing anything to change the situation.

Is it just me or is there something freakishly scary and wrong about that? Are we being lullabied into inaction by the endless amounts of information that we have access to at the click of a button?

p.s. A song comes to mind. Brooke Fraser. Gotta love her.
Now that I have seen,
I am responsible.
Faith without deeds is dead.
-- Albertine

"Listen to me, please..."

A couple of months ago, a fellow-blogger and friend-that-I've-never-even-met (shout out to Kari! :D) recommended this documentary called Home made by a man called Yann Arthus-Bertrand. The film had recently been produced and was on offer for free viewing for a couple of days online. But I didn't watch it. Not because I'm a cynic who doesn't believe in the importance of protecting God's creation. Not because I think those people who preach about the big, scary 'G' phrase (Global Warming) are just a bunch of smart-asses who want to freak us out and are really taking it too far. But because I was in Bombay and my internet connection there is appalling so it would possibly have taken me two weeks to stream the 1hr 33min film. (Not to mention the hefty cost of using said appalling internet connection)

Thankfully though, my brother had a copy so I finally watched it this evening.


I really don't know what to say.Shall I talk about the beauty of this planet that we live in? Shall I talk about the horrible horrible things that we have done to it? Shall I talk about man's incredible selfishness that will lead him to any extent just so he can live in "comfort", no matter what consequence that may have? Shall I talk about our 'blindness' or 'stubbornness', call it what you will.

If I had to describe the film in one word, it would be - *Shudderific*

I know, that's not really a word, but it works quite well for me, thankyouverymuch :P


I don't know what it is. I mean, I don't think that people don't know about Climate Change or understand what Global Warming IS... but somehow, it seems like we've all been numbed into inaction. Why don't we believe that we have the power to make a difference? Why don't we believe that this is important? It's not just about saving those beautiful corals, or the fact that "species are dying out at a rhythm 1,000 times faster than the natural rate" or how hot our summers are getting. We are human beings, we invented the computer, the internet and so many more fantastic technologies. We can get around hotter summers - we'll just convince ourselves that ACs are necessities. Like a child we'll moan and groan till we get what we want at our convenience and at our timing.

But at what cost? There is so MUCH at stake, it's staggering! It's about world hunger. Poverty. Losing the Antartic. Drinking water. Agriculture. The spread of diseases. Drought. Flood. New diseases. War. Health. LIVES. Maybe not yours directly right now but can you, for a moment please, just put yourself in the shoes (not shoes, he probably doesn't have those) walk around in the skin of a farmer in rural India? He goes to sleep hungry along with his family - also hungry. He sows his seeds in anticipation of the monsoon that never comes. And when it comes, it does more harm than good. Another year gone by, no money, no food, no apparent light at the end of the tunnel...


This situation is OUR doing. WE are directly responsible for his plight. WE have shortened the monsoon. WE have created record-breakingly HOT summers. WE have created unusually early and cold winters. WE are systematically and consistently ruining our own planet. Our own habitat. It's like sitting on the very branch that you're sawing off.

That's dumb, isn't it? Surely, we're smarter than that?

I think so. We just need to wake up. Open our eyes. Stop shirking off responsibility.

Like the film says, "It's too late to be a pessimist".

There is still hope. It seems pretty dismal sometimes but it's there. I believe that.
"Our ecosystem doesn't have borders. Wherever we are, our actions have repercussions on the whole earth. The atmosphere of our planet is an invisible whole. It is an asset we share."
- HOME

p.s. The documentary is still available for FREE viewing here: Home - A Film By Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Lights Out People!

In 30 minutes the lights will go out in this house! What about you?

(click on the logo to know more)

*Update>>>>

Our IT neighbours. It's a saturday night and nobody is in the office... Do you really need all those lights?

My cousin's house across the street...And... out go the lights! (after a little reminder phonecall!)and finally... Earth Hour 2009 at BMP 20, Krishnappa Garden! :)Eating leftovers from my chinese lunch out with Dada and D this afternoon and some extra cooked by mommy...and after the lights come back on; yours truly still getting bitten to death by mean mosquitoes on our COVERED balcony...
where are they coming from!?

this was fun! Yay, Earth Hour India 2009!

p.s. check out the Flickr Earth Hour Global 2009 folder. Some awesome pictures in there!

Normality?

Yes, we're back to college, work, school, etc. We're back to talking. We're back to hanging out in the canteen. We're back to commuting on overcrowded trains and buses. We're back to walking on the streets. We're back to joking and laughing. We're back to celebrating life and birthday's (Antu turned 19 on the 30th Nov). We're back to 'normal'.

But I haven't forgotten and I won't forget because things haven't changed. A man can walk into CST with a gun and nobody will notice. It's true.

Bombay: City of Dreams. City of Nightmares.

Bombay: 26-28th November, 2008. I won't forget.

One World, Many Lives.

This is a very strange and difficult situation to be in. Life is far from normal right now. I haven't been to college for two days not because I am ill, or its raining too or simply because I couldn't wake up on time but because my city is almost in a state of war. War is a more appropriate term because when you say terrorist attack, you think bomb blasts or planes crashing into buildings. It happens for a few unbelievable minutes and then you have to move on to recovery. But this is different, its been more than 36 hours of shooting, grenade bombs and holding hostages. They have enough ammunition to last them for days.

Since the first time I blogged about this, the death toll has almost tripled and the injured have doubled. I didn't even mention anything about hostages -most of home were unsuspecting tourists- or how the chief of the Anti-Terrorist Squad is dead. How the General Manager of the Taj Hotel's entire family died in the mayhem.

And yet. And yet, life is going on as normal for most of the world. What's going on in Bombay might only be tucked in to some corner of the global news page of your daily newspaper along with all the other atrocities that are happening in the world today. People are just hearing about what is happening in my city. People are celebrating Thanksgiving. People are partying. People are working. People are going on with the mundane chores and duties of life.

There is no reason that you should not go on with your normal lives because it is possible. But its hard to have to accept and understand this skewed world sometimes. It happens all the time - people die when others are celebrating new life. People win, while there is a loser. Countries live in peace and security while others are ravaged by war and famine and illness...

I don't know how God does it. To be with you in your joy while He is also with us in our sorrow. I don't know how He does it, but I know He does and I am glad that He does.

And this may be a very long and dark night for Bombay, but joy will come in the morning. That is the essence of hope. And I refuse not to have hope.

A Chance for Change?

Barack Obama - the 44th president of the USA.
I pray that you will do good.

Well he won! And everyone is talking about it:
Tint
An Idle Mind
Trick Mirror
Strange Times, My Dear
...and I'm sure there will be many many more posts on this issue on various blogs but I'm guessing they're all sleeping now.

That man sure can give a good speech. How do they do it? Millions of people watching and they don't seem to even have it written down anywhere. I freak out just thinking about it - I have the worst case of stage-fright the world has ever seen. I.kid.you.not.

Anyway, that's about all I'm going to say on it cause honestly, I don't KNOW enough actual facts to make any sweeping statements about how glad I am about Obama winning. Sure he says he'll do many things that the world is so desperate for - ending the war in the middle-east being the key issue here, I guess - and yes, the US has come a long way from when a black woman had to fight for a seat on a public bus to now. But hey, at the end of the day - he's still human. Human, raw, real, imperfect human like all of us. So, let's not idolize him. Let's not sit back and wait for him to change the world.

I have to say - of all the blog posts, articles, news channels, etc I've been following throughout the whole election drama this has got to be the most interesting:
Mark Riddle's Blog

Signing off:

With an uber-cool photo that Jo took of me while we were driving to a shopping mall in Bangalore a few days ago.

Today's The Big Day

...well, I'm guessing by the time we hear it'll already be tomorrow for us.

America is barely waking up now and today - 4th of November, 2008 - she will get her new president. Or to put it the other way round - the world will get its new American President.

Who's it gonna be?

In other news:

I was watching 'Bowling for Columbine' last night before the electricity went out - it's... chilling to say the least. Its scary to even think about what must be going through a teenager's mind to be able to KILL. Related to that, I'm reading Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes at the moment which is based on a similar situation. She is a talented woman that woman. If you haven't read any of her books - you SHOULD! Here's a list of the one's I've read in order of preference:

Jodi Picoult

• My Sister's Keeper: So far, still the BEST. Niru recommended this one to me about two years ago; it was the first Jodi Picoult I read and obviously not the last.
• Salem Falls
• Nineteen Minutes (still reading it but it's already here on the list!)
• The Pact
• Perfect Match
• Change of Heart
• Vanishing Acts

And now I'm bored and they're showing Grey's Anatomy re-run on TV so I'm gonna go!